Answers

I'm going to take an educated guess you're referring to the 2DS XL. If this is the case, a merge isn't appropriate. When Nintendo releases a New version of an old console, it means there were hardware revisions. These revisions warrant a new device page, and shouldn't be merged.

I don't think enough people use them as a primary source, so it may not make sense to give someone credit for a PDF download. I'm sure most people prefer to use the app or mobile site, so PDF downloads are probably not a regular occurrence. The problem with the PDF is they are set in stone until you generate a new copy and replace the existing copy you have. This isn't always possible as soon as a guide is revised, and the revisions can be major enough it's so different the old PDF is no longer helpful. The main problem is they are static and need to be refreshed so often they probably rarely get downloaded. They do have a use, but the uses that they do well are very limited. Is it better then nothing if something happens (example: the guide gets retracted and the author doesn't think it's worth saving)? Yes. However, most of the guide here stick unless they are really messy and aren't worth trying to recover so that's rarely going to be the case.

Electronic control panels tend to be more troublesome then a mechanical panel. If you have the option of getting a panel with mechanical controls, that's the way to go. Generally speaking, electronic panels are less reliable then their mechanical counterpart. Since you are dealing with electronics, you are essentially playing the lottery with your washer and hoping it doesn't die. If they were reliable, that would be one thing. The problem is the odds are rarely in your favor. Having manufacturers cut costs by making these panels cheaper doesn't help when you talk about reliability problems. Less complex panels generally don't fail often, but you still have to hope it doesn't fail. This isn't the case with a mechanical failure, since failures are very obvious and do not fail randomly - they fail over time and you generally have a period to catch such a failure before it goes out completely. The warranty issue stems back to the issue of reliability. Since mechanical panels fail less often, the warranty is natu...

From what I understand, iFixit has it's hands tied because the carriers are refusing to ship batteries this year without making things complicated. Your best bet would probably be a local supplier who can sell it in Canada if you need it right now. If you don't, then you may be able to wait.

What I think the better way to do it is to have these new limits only apply to guides started after it was implemented, but continue letting the old guides use the old calculation method. I also think 500 is a little low; it should probably be 1,500-2,000. For users writing guides that take a long time (in some cases, years) to finish (or prove to be somewhat expensive) a lifetime cap of 500 may discourage people from writing these longer guides (unless they intend to use the machine as a daily driver, but want to show off their process and the reputation is just a bonus). I know with my Linux guide, I have some built-in costs that don't change based on the price of the laptop I get. I have 4 costs I (generally) can't avoid: (1) Battery (Most used laptops need a battery if you want to use it portable for any serious amount of time) (2) SSD (Cost varies. If I reuse my 240GB M500, it's free. If not, the cost of the SSD will take its place.) If I shop smart, I can probably at least mitigate the odds of needing t...

It depends on the part in question. I've had 3 so far and used 2 (2 1506's and 1 1697) and they have ALL broken for me. My 1537's were combined into one because of a bad RB on one (but the board I needed was good) into the other one, which had drift issues (that board turned out to be bad testing it long after the rebuild anyway). Months into it that board even did it, but the second board came back with an air duster, so dust did it the second time. Needless to say, I think the 1537's are junk and are very troublesome. They seem to be famous for the analog stick drifting issue, primarily. The 1697/1698 (Elite) is too new for me to know too many potential issues. At this point I'd like to assume the 1536 drift issue is fixed but I haven't used mine long enough to know yet (it was only 6 months old when I got it). The problem with the 1697/1698 is I have already found a design flaw: the LB/RB button assembly has a tendency to break. Abusing the controller makes the chances of such a failure even more likely si...

They are not, but if you are buying a board for a phone that is over 2 years​ old or falls under the AT&T unlock policy at the time you buy it you should be able to get it SIM unlocked. I wouldn't worth about the status of the SIM lock too much. Almost all S4's will qualify for the unlock because they are over 2 years old, but some still may not.

I think it's safe to say this person needs to be banned rather then be given another chance. At least with Earl Fletcher (post can be found here: Earl Fechter needs to be straightened out) I felt a little more comfortable saying he should get a second chance. I don't think this one deserves a second chance.